ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance) (26 page)

The full moon hung low in the sky. The green leaves of the poplar trees glowed silver and a light breeze blew the scent of the forest to the farmhouse. The sky was cloudless and the stars were almost as bright as the moon.

Andre wiggled his fingers, growling playfully as he chased the children around a red wagon. They all shrieked with laughter though Lydia had recently decided she was too old to be caught up in such “baby” games. She bounced on her toes, clearly torn between her newfound maturity and her desire to join in. Andre caught little James and tossed him in the air, eliciting cries of “me too” and “again”.

The door to the house opened and Mary danced out. Her sparkling green eyes twinkled as she lightly clapped her hands, calling attention to herself. James ignored her, tugging at Andre's hair and demanding to be thrown into the air again.

"It's time to get going," she called, and instantly James was kicking to be set down. Andre laughed.

Lydia ran to Mary and whispered in her ear. Mary smiled and nodded, and the girl disappeared into the house. The rest of them scattered to the bushes, where they would quickly strip down and embrace their Wolves.

Andre stepped over to Mary, panting. "Wolves!"

"They've worn you out already, have they?" She laughed.

Andre shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "They're always hyper on the night of the full moon."

"Well, we only have half an hour to midnight and Neal won't embrace his Bear." Mary shook her head. "I'll get the rest of the children in the wagon if you'll go help him."

Andre nodded, pressing a kiss to Mary's temple as he passed her. He took the stairs to the nursery two steps at a time, anxious to get his little son to embrace his Bear before midnight and the involuntary shift to Wolf happened. He was a rarity, Neal, having a soul that was both Wolf and Bear. But he was a happy, healthy little fellow, with Andre's black eyes, Mary's black hair, and a laugh that was twice his size.

Neal sat in his room, having made a blanket nest on the floor. Unlike the rest of their brood, his energy spike didn't happen until
after
the full moon, and it lasted for a good three days before he got back to his calm self.

Andre crept over to his son and knelt beside him. Neal smiled sleepily at his father and Andre smiled back.

The pain of Isadore and Eve's death had not gone away, but in the eighteen months since Neal was born, Andre had felt it shift. When he thought of them, images of their dead bodies no longer haunted him. Instead, he remembered the good times and the happiness they shared together. He was as happy now with his odd little family as he had been then.

"We have to go out to the run, bud," Andre said, easing Neal into his arms. "Can't you be with your Bear? You know it hurts if you don't have it when it's midnight."

"Not tonight," Neal said, his babyish lisp muddled further by how sleepy he was. "Tomorrow."

Andre laughed and kissed his son's head. "What if Daddy embraced his Bear, too? Come on, you know you love running with your brothers and sisters."

He tickled Neal's feet and peals of laughter rang through the home. Andre heard the impatient little yips and playful growls from outside that told him that the rest of the family was waiting on them.

"Help me?" Neal tugged at his sleepers.

Andre undressed Neal, and with a little encouragement, the toddler wrinkled his nose and embraced his Bear. He was still in the spindly-legged stage, not quite used to walking and Andre carried him down to the yard.

Mary waited at the door and took Neal, kissing his fuzzy face while she took him to the wagon where the rest of their children waited with their Wolves, tails wagging, climbing all over each other. Andre paused, soaking in the sight of the love of his life settling their little Bear-Wolf son among their adopted Wolf children.

Peace and contentment filled his heart. He had a family once again.

Mary trotted next to Andre as he pulled the wagon. The children jostled each other, but the occasional stern woof from her kept them in order.

The moon's call filled her blood, and she couldn’t stop herself from dancing around the wagon, nipping at Andre's heels from time to time. He gave her an indulgent glare and she wagged her tail, spanking the ground.

Soon they were at their destination with its wide fields, frosty with the first freeze of the year. The others were already there causing the children bounded off to greet their brothers and sisters, as though they didn't see them every single day.

Mary hid behind Andre, repressing her Wolf so she could unhitch him from the wagon. The night air made goosebumps rise on her arms, but soon she was safely wrapped in fur once more.

Neal tumbled out of the wagon and Mary hurried to him, licking his fur to make sure he was okay. He stood on his back legs and wrapped his front legs around her neck, biting at her ear and making a purring noise.

Peter, Amy and their little girl jogged over to join them, rubbing heads and wagging their tails as greetings. Nearby Julia chased a young man, a human from town she had confided to Mary was her soulmate. His eyes were bright and his cheeks flushed as he dodged her attempts to tackle him. A little further, Conrad Milton and David Monroe roughhoused.

The children dashed back to Mary and Andre, growling and biting at Andre's thick fur.

Mary's blood sang, as her gaze was drawn to the moon. It seemed closer than ever before and she could see every crater in its pearly surface.

There was a long moment of silence as all Wolves turned their faces to the call of the moon. Luna sang to them, and as one, they threw back their heads and sang too. The humans who had joined them cupped their mouths and howled, as the few Bears attending stood on their back legs and roared their solidarity. Neal's thin, puppy howl joined the song, and Mary glanced down to see he had transitioned smoothly from Bear to Wolf.

The children gathered around Andre and Mary. Tongues lolled out and tails wagged. They watched eagerly. Wolf and Bear shared a glance and as one, they started forward, running together at a speed even Neal could keep up with.

Mary let the air rush around her. She was aware of each of the children and every other Wolf, Bear, and human in the field. They all ran under the moon, connected by her silvery light.

And she thanked Luna that this life was hers.

*****

THE END

Bonus Book 6: The Billionaire Wolf's Baby

By:
T.S. Ryder

Description

A curvy prude who is always in control PLUS the sexy, rich son of the CIA’s director PLUS a dark family secret hidden in the forest...

Harrod Ford is a perfectly charming guy, working away on his degree and living a somewhat normal life. Well, as normal as having an oil tycoon for a grandfather and the Director of Central Intelligence Agency for a father allows...

But life outside the mansion is sheltered, with two vans following Harrod wherever he goes and strict security all around. And life inside the mansion is lonely with only him and his father, who is barely even home.

A little before his 25
th
birthday, Harrod starts having strange dreams. As the dreams turn into nightmares, Harrod reaches out for help, only to find more secrets and lies. But his journey into the unknown is just beginning...

Things pick up the pace when he ends up partnered with a girl he has a huge crush on.

Siobhan was raised by stern mother, Senator Daphna. Now, she’s a prude who has never had a relationship. She is always in control, as she has always been taught. She keeps a sharp eye on the people around her, knows even the most trivial details about those who surround her and keeps a poker face.

But all of that begins to change when she ends up partnered with Harrod. Harrod — a rich, stuck-up jerk, according to her.

But fate has other plans for them, and as their paths cross they find that they have a lot in common. As the secrets unravel and shocking truths surface, what direction will Harrod and Siobhan’s lives take?

Harrod

I sat in the therapist’s room, staring at the walls. The color was a soothing green. It felt like the place was filled with nature, even though the only signs of it in the room were the two plants: a bonsai tree on the coffee table and a money plant next to the door. I cracked my knuckles again. It was a nervous habit I had recently developed. My mind kept going back to last night’s dream, giving me shivers over and over again. This was unusual for me. Nothing like this had ever happened before. It was almost as if I had hit puberty all over again.

The therapist knocked on the door and entered the room. She didn’t really need permission; it was her office, after all. She sat behind the desk and focused her attention on me. Her clothes were casual, her manner formal. She pulled out a notepad from her desk, grabbed a pen and then looked at me.

“Hello,” she finally said.

“Hello,” I replied.

“Harrod, right?”

I nodded.

“Harrod, I am Dr. Parker.”

I smiled, too nervous to speak.

“So,” she began. “What brings you here?”

“Haven’t you read my file yet?” I asked. My GP had asked me all sorts of questions before sending me here.

“I have, of course,” she smiled patiently. “But I want you to tell me what’s bothering you.”

I was sweating profusely. I lifted my arms, revealing the huge spots of moisture that had seeped into my shirt, and said, “This.”

“Right,” she said. “What we have to do is to get to the root of this. I am going to ask you some questions throughout the session. They may be of a personal nature. You’re free to not answer if you feel uncomfortable, but it would help me greatly if you do. Of course, everything you say will remain between us. I am sure you know about doctor-patient confidentiality.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Now, start at the beginning,” she said.

“Well,” I began. “As far as I remember, everything was fine up until a few days before my 25
th
birthday. Then I started having these dreams. It was the same dream every time. They have become more frequent now. In the beginning, it was nothing, but every dream progresses a little, showing something the previous dream didn’t. When I wake up, my heart is pounding, hammering in my chest. It feels like I can’t breathe…like I’m having a heart attack.”

“Was there something unusual in the weeks before all this started?”

I shook my head, “No.”

“Were the days preceding all this of any significant to you?”

“Nope.”

“Are you in a relationship?”

“No,” I said.

“Have you ever been in one?”

“I was kind of seeing someone, but it ended. That was three or four months before this. We ended things on pleasant terms, so that has nothing to do with it.”

“What about your sex life?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer this, but I went on truthfully. “I just jerk off, or hook up with girls I meet at bars.”

She paused for a moment and cleared her throat.

“Harrod, what you are experiencing are mild sleep terrors, coupled with panic attacks.”

“But why is this happening?”

“Usually, some major change in life, something unexpected, catches your brain off guard. The defense mechanisms fail, or get bypassed, and the brain goes into an emergency mode. The result is what you are experiencing. The changes are always unanticipated, like the death of a loved one, a new job, getting fired from work, marriage, divorce, etc.”

“Trust me, none of that is the case with me. I saw my breakup coming, we both did. We talked about it, lingered for a while, then let go. Neither of us has any regrets. Plus, I am interested in someone, but it’s too soon to take that into account.”

“How do you feel about it?” she asked, scribbling something on her notepad.

“I don’t feel much about it. Like I said, there’s this girl at my university that I am interested in, and we’ll see how it goes. There’s not much to add.”

“Right,” she said. “How is your relationship with your parents?”

“Well, my dad works for the government and holds an important position, one I am not allowed to tell you about, but our relationship is pretty good. We are not particularly close, but we are close enough. We talk when he’s around and free, and play golf when we can. Other than that he’s usually busy. My mother lives at a facility. A tragic incident during my childhood sent her into a trauma she hasn’t been able to recover from.”

“What happened?”

“I was only seven, so I don’t remember much,” I lied. I didn’t want her to link my dreams to what had happened back then.

“Any siblings? How’s your relationship with them?”

“I had a brother, but he died. His lungs weren't properly formed. I think he was about two or three then.” Another lie, but I had no choice here. Father had strictly warned me against speaking the truth.

“Do you visit your mom?”

“I used to visit her every week, then twice a month, but now I visit her once every month or two. She hardly ever talks, so there’s no point really. She isn’t quite there, you know, delusions and all.”

“Okay, Harrod,” she began. “This is your first session and I don’t want to stress you out. I would like you to see me twice a week, and as we continue this, I would like you to open up slowly.” She held the pen in her fingers and pointed in the air, like a teacher in front of a whiteboard. “See, therapy takes time to work. I can’t prescribe any medications to you. My job is to get to the root of the problem and fix it. This will take time and effort, and it won’t work if you don’t try. So, are you onboard?”

“Yes,” I lied for the last time.

She got up from her desk and sat on the chair beside me, and handed me a pamphlet. She recommended some breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, workouts, all the usual stuff. I nodded my head, said ‘yes’ over and over again, pretended I was listening and waited for the session to be over.

I wasn’t going to come back to this. Therapy wasn’t for me, it wasn’t going to work. I knew what I had to do, so I thanked her and left the room.